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Fasting Forward into February

Toronto Holistic Nutritionist Laurie McPhail FastingAs a holistic nutritionist, I am constantly reading to keep abreast of the latest science in nutrition, health and wellness.  I have been focusing on fasting recently.  Many of my clients are concerned about metabolic issues such as too much weight around the middle, elevated blood sugar, high triglycerides and so on.  As there is compelling evidence that fasting is an effective way to remedy these issues, I took a deep dive, fasting forward into February.

Throughout January, I binged on fasting, gobbling up every word of several books, articles and studies.  And as I never recommend anything to my clients that I haven’t done myself (so I can better understand and support their efforts), I also did a month of twice-weekly 24-hour fasts.  My lucky husband was part of this experiment as well!  On Mondays and Wednesdays, we did not eat until 24 hours after we had finished eating dinner the night before.  So after my month of feasting on the research and fasting from food, this is just a brief look into the fascinating world of fasting …

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Fasting Mimicking Menu for February

I have been experimenting with intermittent fasting throughout January as part of my research for my next blog post, Fasting Forward into February. So I am tempted to joke that February’s Menu of the Month is “nothing”, but I wouldn’t want to let you down.  🙂

Toronto Holistic Nutritionist Laurie McPhail Fasting Mimicking Menu

Instead, I’ve created a sort of fasting mimicking menu for you.  You can sign up here to receive the recipes.  I say “sort of” since this isn’t in accordance with the Fasting Mimicking Diet that you may have heard of.  What it does do is mimic an aspect of fasting in that it reduces the release of insulin in your body.

Insulin is the hormone needed to move the sugar that comes from the food you eat from your blood and into your cells where it is used for energy. Insulin also directs the storage of excess sugar to regulate blood sugar levels.

All foods stimulate the release of insulin.  When you are fasting, there is no insulin release because you aren’t eating any food.  When you consume fat, however, there is very little insulin release.

So this menu is pretty fat-forward (I guess I should have called it Fat-Forward into February).  I hope this leaves you hungry for my upcoming blog post, Fasting Forward into February. I will discuss why it is so beneficial to lower both the quantity and frequency of insulin released by your body.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these recipes.  And do please share them with family and friends!

Fasting Mimicking Menu

Breakfast: Overnight Paleo N’Oats (N’Oats as in “no oats” – this is all nuts & seeds)
Lunch: Cream of Broccoli, Kale & Spinach Soup (the creamy coconut milk and high fibre content of this soup makes it very satisfying)
Dinner:  Creamy Spinach & Sun Dried Tomato Chicken (where the recipe notes offer suggestions for more carbs, for this purpose just don’t do it…if you must, the cauliflower “rice” from January’s menu is the way to go)
Fasting instead of feeding?  Pressure Cooker Bone Broth (bone broth is recommended during fasting protocols to meet electrolyte requirements and prevent dehydration)

Join The Nutritional Reset community here to receive this month’s menu today (as well as each month to come)!  And read on for some nutritional tidbits about a few featured foods from the recipes…

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Get anti-gravity glutes & a functional booty

Toronto Holistic Nutritionist Laurie McPhail Anti-gravity GlutesI can’t recall which comedian said “By the time I turned forty, I finally had my head together…and then my ass fell apart” but I do recall thinking it was hilarious at the time.  By the time I turned fifty, I didn’t think it was so funny any more.  And now that I am beyond fifty (how much beyond is a state secret), many of my cohort are lamenting the state of our fallen asses and are ready to take action to achieve anti-gravity glutes.

So I thought I’d ask one of my fan-tastic Pilates teachers to give guidance on how to achieve anti-gravity glutes.  When I learned that Amanda’s Instagram handle was @assbyamanda, I knew our asses were in good hands.  All puns intended. 😉

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Wind down winter with the Yoga Warrior Restart

warrior restartwarrior restartWishing winter would end sooner rather than later?  Wanting to do your body some good?
Then consider winding down your winter, and winding down, with the Yoga Warrior Restart in beautiful Bucerias, Mexico.

Yoga Warrior Robin Riviere is hosting this week-long yoga retreat from April 6 to 13. 

Warrior Restart is for yoga warriors over 40.  Whether you began Ashtanga yoga early in life or are just learning, Robin will show you how to find the yoga warrior within.  So if you are looking to take time for yourself, restart your yoga practice and renew your commitment to healthy lifestyle choices, Warrior Restart is for you!

For a limited time, registration includes my Shrink it in 6ix program…

Even better, right now (and for a limited time), Robin is offering registrants the gift of nutrition.  Sign up to Warrior Restart and her gift to you is Shrink it in 6ix, my one-on-one program designed to reduce weight in a safe and sustainable manner and promote optimal health.  This program includes six private sessions and three weekly meal plans (a $600 value).  This is one appetizing add-on!  Find out more about Warrior Restart here and Shrink it in 6ix here.  Hola!

Dishing It Up for January 2019

Toronto Holistic Nutritionist Laurie McPhailDishing It Up serves up a selection of stories, studies & so on from the world of wellness & nutrition each month.


In this month’s issue of Dishing It Up…

How to Stop Eating Sugar
One Cardiologist’s Mission to Reduce Statin Use for Cholesterol
Will a No Booze, Dry January Help Your Health?
Fitness Snacking (it has nothing to do with food)
Flu Rides the Subway, Too

Get a taste of each from the sampler platter…

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Immunity Boosting Menu for January

This month’s immunity boosting menu features foods to boost your immune system, keeping you hale and hearty through the deep freeze of January!

Toronto Holistic Nutritionist Laurie McPhail Immunity Boosting Menu

Breakfast: Spinach, Tomato & Goat Cheese Egg Scramble (round out with a broiled grapefruit half)
Lunch: Butter Chicken and Cauliflower Rice (make ahead; when ready to serve simply reheat and stir in some chopped baby kale)
Snack if needed: Golden Turmeric Latte (these can be addictive)
Dinner: One Pan Salmon with Rainbow Veggies (on the table in no time)

Join The Nutritional Reset community here to receive this month’s menu today (as well as each month to come)!

 

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Eat anything you want. Just cook it yourself.

Toronto Holistic Nutritionist Laurie McPhail Eat anything you want. Just cook it yourself.With holiday feasting and 2018 coming to a close, thoughts inevitably turn to resolutions to be healthier and lose weight in the new year.

The plethora of diets out there (Paleo, Keto, Low FODMAP, Low Carb-High Fat, Low Fat-High Carb and more) can easily leave you calorie counting, confused and/or stressing over micro-managing your macronutrients (“gee, how many grams of fat, protein and carbs should I eat?“).

So let’s cut straight to today’s pearl of dietary wisdom, expressed so eloquently by New York Times bestselling author Michael Pollan and captured succinctly in this 3-minute video
Eat anything you want.  Just cook it yourself.  And I want to help.

As a member of The Nutritional Reset community, each month you will receive a day’s worth of delicious and nutritious recipes to inspire your home cooking – sign up here for free.  And then, go ahead… Eat anything you want.  Just cook it yourself. read more

Feast Festively without Piling on the Pounds

Toronto Holistic Nutritionist Laurie McPhailDid you know that the average North American gains 7 to 10 pounds during the holidays?  Fear not – you can feast festively without piling on the pounds!

Click here to join The Nutritional Reset community and I will email you Healthy Holiday Eating, a selection of holiday recipes which show that you can eat meals that are both healthy and delicious – not only at the holidays but all year round!

And read on for a few healthy eating strategies to make this holiday season your sveltest yet…

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Sweet Potato Porridge: a warm hug to start your day.

Toronto Holistic Nutritionist Laurie McPhailIt is officially starting to feel like winter out there, with the “feels like” temperatures sliding into negative digits and sporadic, swirling flurries promising snowfalls to come.  At this time of year, it is natural to crave warming and comforting foods.  Porridge is like a warm hug to start your day.  This Sweet Potato Porridge is a favourite of mine, which also happens to be grain-free (for all you Paleo devotees out there).

When I first came across it, I thought “this sounds bizarre”. But, as a holistic nutritionist, that tends to pique my curiousity and spurs me give ‘er a try.  After all, what’s there to lose?  Turned out it was absolutely delicious and is one of my go-to breakfasts!   So if you are thinking the same thing I was after reading this recipe, I heartily encourage you to give it a try.

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Put some Spring in your step with essential oils!

Toronto Holistic Nutritionist Laurie McPhail

While the calendar may have long heralded the advent of Spring in Toronto where I practice, Mother Nature has not…brrrr!!!  By now, like most here, I am pretty tired of the relentlessly chilly temperatures!  And the fact that it has been dragging on so long has been, well, a drag.  So to lift my mood, I’ve turned to one of my favourite remedies, essential oils.

The uses of essential oils are many and miraculous in my opinion.  And I love diffusing them throughout my home.  Both my bedroom and living room host a diffuser – specifically this very sleek, hand-crafted black stone diffuser from Vancouver’s Vitruvi.  I also own pretty much their entire catalogue of essential oils so I’m ready for anything!  Being a science geek, I admit I was drawn to their bottle labels, which are styled after the periodic table.  The black glass bottles are both aesthetically pleasing and they are excellent at protecting the oils from light.  But what I love most about Vitruvi is their steady flow of creative ideas on how to use their oils, like this one… read more